Communication networks facilitate transmission of many types of communication signals between endpoints. In packet-switched networks, for example, equipment such as routers and switches are typically used to route communication signals over pathways from originating locations toward target destinations. In circuit-switched networks such as conventional public switched telephone networks (“PSTNs”), switches are commonly used to form communication circuits over transmission media. The switches then direct communication signals over the circuits toward target destinations.
Because of the proliferation and complexity of modern communications, equipment used in many communication networks is sophisticated and expensive. For example, telecommunications switches deployed in a PSTN are costly and complicated devices. Such switches typically include many intricate parts configured to support switching functions. The configuration of equipment in a switch largely determines the capacity of the switch for handling communication traffic. For example, the number of line termination cards in a switch determines, at least in part, the maximum number of transmission lines that can be terminated by the switch.
Telecommunication switches come in a variety of sizes, technologies, and configurations. Accordingly, a particular switch may be well-suited for a certain network implementation but ill-suited for another network implementation. The design or selection of a switch is largely driven by the traffic demands to be handled by the switch. In particular, a selected switch should provide sufficient capacity to handle relevant traffic demands, without providing an overly excessive amount of capacity that would waste resources and increase costs. Consequently, a typical communication network usually employs a variety of different switches across the network. In a PSTN, for example, the switches generally include host end-office switches, remote switches, tandem switches, end-office/tandem combination switches, and traffic operator position system (“TOPS”) switches.
The complexity of the equipment used in communication networks causes network providers to incur substantial expenses related to the design, implementation, operation, maintenance, and regulatory compliance associated with network devices, including telecommunication switches. Tools have been developed to assist network providers in estimating the investments associated with network devices, particularly the investments associated with network switches. The existing tools have been particularly designed to help automate techniques used for estimating such investments.
While existing tools have provided some automation to conventional investment estimation techniques, the tools exhibit several shortcomings. For example, existing switch investment modeling tools fail to provide component-level quantity and price information to end users and typically provide only high-level output such as a top-level, total switch investment, or a number of subtotal investment estimates for partitioned sections of the switch. The existing tools do not provide end users with in-depth information showing how investment estimates are ascertained or how a switch is partitioned according to investment categories.
Moreover, existing tools are inflexible because device modeling computations typically have to be rerun each time input data is changed. Unfortunately, each computation of output can require substantial processing time, even for an adjustment of a single input variable. In other words, the existing tools are not equipped to perform efficient sensitivity analyses for varied switch design parameters.
Existing tools also require significant man-hours to operate. In particular, operators spend many hours organizing vast amounts of inputs that are required by the existing tools. Moreover, operators of many existing tools must sift through large amounts of outputs, many of which may not be relevant. Existing tools that have attempted to reduce the number of inputs or outputs have suffered a loss of accuracy because in order to reduce the inputs or outputs, the tools have relied upon less accurate averaging techniques for estimating switch investments. Such tools have turned out to be relatively inaccurate for modeling many different types of network devices. In short, existing tools for estimating switching investments are cumbersome and time consuming to operate, or often provide outputs that are irrelevant, inaccurate, or difficult to decipher.